Oracle Blog

For Oracle Partners in EMEA

Is the Best Product Enough to Win?

I suspect a lot of us would like to think so. The best
product, best team, best person should win, right? Unfortunately, a Pulitzer
Prize winning article in the Washington Post indicates that’s not always
be the case.

Joshua Bell is one
of the world’s greatest violinists. He once played “six of the most elegant
songs ever written” in a busy DC metro station on one of the world’s most
expensive violins. How many people paused to appreciate his virtuoso
performance?

7.

Anita Elberse, a Harvard Business School professor, uses the storyto
illustrate the importance of getting people’s attention in the crowded
marketplace of ideas. In short, the experiment indicates having a great product
isn't enough.

I couldn’t help but contrast these results with the emphasis we place
on the demo and having the “best product”. While I’m not saying demo prep
and product presentation aren’t important—we aren’t likely to win without
them—they’re probably not enough to win.

Of course, good sales people will aver “People buy from people!”
underlining the importance of relationships. While that’s certainly true,
it’s not exactly a trade secret. (I suspect prehistoric fur traders who people
liked did more business than jerks). We know strong competitors do the
same thing—emphasize great product and build strong relationships—so how do we
expect to stand out if we only do the same? Why should a customer buy from
Oracle and not someone else?

While the reasons can be different in every deal—integrated stack,
OBAs, partner ecosystem, BPO et al—if we allow the decision to be solely based
on the ERP product and relationships, we’re not only missing our chance to
stand out but we’re exposing the deal to forces we can’t control (e.g. the
sales rep and buyer are members of the same cycling club).

It might help our win rate if we thought of Mr. Bell slowly, sadly
stroking his precious Stradivarius as commuters whisked by nary sharing a
glance.